Andre Thomas is a convicted murderer and death row inmate from Grayson County, Texas. He murdered his estranged wife and two young children. While in custody, he physically removed both of his eyes and ate one. The bizarre nature of his crimes and his self-injurious behavior have caused many people to question his sanity and, thus, the appropriateness and legality of executing him.
Murder
On March 27, 2004, Thomas stabbed to death his 20-year-old estranged wife, their four-year-old son, and her 13-month-old daughter in his wife's home. He used a different knife to murder each member of his family, which he explained to authorities was so he did not "cross contaminate" their blood and "allow the demons inside them to live." He proceeded to cut out his children's hearts and inadvertently removed a piece of his wife's lung instead of her heart. He stabbed himself in the chest but did not die, so he placed the organs in his pockets and walked to his house, later moving the hearts and piece of lung to a paper bag and throwing them in the garbage. He called his wife's parents and left a voicemail:
Um, Sherry, this is Andre. I need y'alls help, something bad is happening to me and it keeps happening and I don't knowwhat's going on. I need some help, I think I'm in hell. I need help. Somebody needs to come and help me. I need help bad. I'm desperate. I'm afraid to go to sleep. So when you get this message, come by the house, please. Hello?
He turned himself in to the police, was treated and released at a local hospital, and made a full confession.
Self-injurious behavior
Five days after the murders, he removed one of his eyes with his bare hands. He was evaluated by three specialists, all of whom concurred that he suffered from some form of schizophrenia. After 45 days in a secured mental health facility, his caretakers ruled that his mental illness was mostly substance-induced and that he was fit to stand trial. The court convicted Thomas of murder on November 3, 2005, and sentenced him to death. Thomas originally was placed in the Polunsky Unit, where the Texasstate death row for men is located. He again attempted suicide, this time by cutting his throat. On December 9, 2008, Thomas removed his left eye, rendering himself completely blind. After removing his second eye, he ate it. He claimed the ocular ingestion was necessary to prevent the United States Federal Government from reading his thoughts. Thomas' behavior has led many commentators to state that he is not fit for execution on the grounds that he is not mentally competent.
Current status
Thomas is presently awaiting execution and is housed in the Jester IV Unit for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. He does not have a scheduled date of execution.
